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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26210260">On to Forever</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/karasunovolleygays/pseuds/karasunovolleygays'>karasunovolleygays</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Sportsfest 2019 [20]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Arranged Marriage, M/M, Nobility/Peasant AU, riding off into the sunset</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 08:35:32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,958</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26210260</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/karasunovolleygays/pseuds/karasunovolleygays</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Shigeru's future is decided until the person holding his heart decides it isn't. It's novel, what one can accomplish when they don't give a damn about arbitrary rules of society.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kyoutani Kentarou/Yahaba Shigeru</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Sportsfest 2019 [20]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1802278</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>72</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Seijoh Week 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>On to Forever</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Shigeru sighs as he looks out the window of his family’s estate. The grounds are as neatly mapped out as the rest of his life, both of which have been meticulously structured by his father. Every element of both were selected with care to perform a certain function, and Shigeru’s primary function is on her way to the house right now.</p><p>In twenty four short hours, Shigeru will be a married man on his way to carrying on the family line with a perfectly acceptable string of heirs, and he dreads every second that drags until his sentence is passed.</p><p>His eyes stray to the edge of the grounds, and as soon as they fall upon a familiar target, Shigeru jerks his gaze away. There’s no time to think about <em> that </em> right now. As far as he is aware, nobody anywhere knows about his occasional fling with the horsemaster, and he aims to keep it that way. </p><p>But as his attention drags back to the glistening, corded muscles of Kentarou’s back as he breaks in a young filly destined as a gift for Shigeru’s sister, he isn’t sure if he can keep his thoughts away from the occasional night spent on a rough straw tick mattress enveloped in a blanket of pure sensation.</p><p>All that had stopped the moment Shigeru had finally told Kentarou about his upcoming arranged marriage. <em> I’m not your little plaything, pretty boy</em>, Kentarou had hissed at him in disgust — a rightful reaction to Shigeru asking if they can stay together even after the wedding. It was a selfish request, but the thought of spending the rest of his life firmly entrenched in expectations gnaws at him in a way nothing else ever has.</p><p>The flurry of servants in every corner of the house preparing for the entire elaborate event drowns out as Shigeru allows his thoughts to fall onto Kentarou once again. He bites his lip at some of the warmer recollections, wondering whether his future wife’s soft and pliant body will ever make his heart pulse in his chest the way the sharp angles and hard planes of Kentarou’s work-honed body have over the last several years.</p><p>All of that is over, however. In a day’s time, he’ll be neck deep in the rest of his life, with responsibility the reigning star of the show. </p><p>Soon, the rush of preparations drags him from his bedchambers and along with the flow. With a list of tasks assigned to him by his father, Shigeru can almost forget that he is putting the nails into his own proverbial coffin. His body will live, but part of him will never walk away from the altar.</p><p>It’s well past dark before the swarm of activity in the house dwindles to a dull roar, and Shigeru slips out onto the grounds for a breath of air that doesn’t have his future wife’s name on it, let alone his own. His feet carry him to a familiar spot on their own accord, one his better judgment should have steered him clear of. </p><p>There’s a soft sea of meadow just beyond the gates to the estate, and a giant old tree stump presides in the middle of it. Head in his hands, Shigeru stares at the grass between his feet, the cool glow of moonlight going unnoticed amidst a slew of unwanted memories.</p><p>This is the very place where Shigeru had kissed Kentarou for the first time. Sixteen and stupid, Shigeru had reached for something he didn’t even know was there and happened to get lucky to hit the target. He had gotten everything he ever wanted up until then, but it didn’t take long for Shigeru to realize he only had Kentarou because Kentarou allowed it. </p><p>Maybe that had been the appeal of it all. Nobody tells him no but his father and himself, but Kentarou isn’t like the rest of the house staff. He isn’t afraid to say exactly what he thinks, even if a different lord would have ordered his tongue removed for it. </p><p>That painfully familiar voice snaps Shigeru back to reality at breakneck speed. “Thought I’d find you here.”</p><p>Shigeru doesn’t answer; he doesn’t know how. Instead, as soon as Kentarou sits beside him on the stump, Shigeru sags into his side. The two of them quietly gaze across the stretch of grass, burning silver from the light of the nearly full moon. </p><p><em> Reminds me of you </em>, comes a long-forgotten memory of a night much like this one, with Kentarou’s fingers buried in Shigeru’s hair to make the moonlight trickling into the window glimmer against the fine blond strands. His belly clenches at the thought of the rest of that night — their first time together. It had been neither romantic nor graceful, but the real world had never seemed so far away.  Now reality is everywhere he looks.</p><p>“I have to do it,” Shigeru finally says. “Our family has held this estate for twelve generations. Thousands of people depend on it to live. I don’t have the right to put an end to that.”</p><p>Kentarou nods, and Shigeru spills more of his racing thoughts. “She comes from a good family with strong allies. My father worked hard to arrange it.”</p><p>“Sure.” Kentarou snorts and pulls a knife from his belt, idly scraping the jagged edges from his work-worn fingernails. “Why doesn’t <em> he </em>just marry her?”</p><p>“I’m sure he tried.” Shigeru chortles and shakes his head. “That leaves me free to marry off to some other potential ally. Her father probably wouldn’t agree to selling his daughter off to an old man.”</p><p>“Probably.”</p><p>Shigeru straightens his back and squares his shoulders. “But I don’t get to do whatever I want. I might hate every second of it, but it’s not just about me.” </p><p>A new wave of resolve grips Shigeru, and he pushes to his feet. Standing before Kentarou, his first love in every way, Shigeru presses their mouths together for a fierce kiss with a determination that has always framed their times together. They’re both panting as their foreheads rest together, eyes with no choice but to meet. “I hope you get lucky and forget all about me, but I’ll never forget you. You’re my forever, Kentarou. No matter who I marry, that will always be true.”</p><p>As he walks away, Shigeru can feel Kentarou’s gaze boring into his back, but he doesn’t dare turn back. One stray crook of the finger and he knows they’ll end up sprawled out on that stump like rabbits in heat. With that thought, once he passes through the inner gates leading to the main house, he starts running. He finally stops once he reaches his bedchambers, throwing his winded body on his bed wishing the sprint had been enough to work away the yearning.</p><p>Sleep is fleeting and fitful, and when the dawn comes, everything is a haze to Shigeru. If not for the head housekeeper being on top of everything, Shigeru might not have managed to get dressed for the ceremony. He isn’t even sure he could respond correctly to the simplest of questions, even his own name.</p><p>White, white, white, it’s everywhere he goes. Trimmed with gold, trimmed with the same teal as their family crest, it covers every surface. The color of purity, tradition says. Shigeru doesn’t think he’s particularly pure, and he can’t speak for his bride. </p><p>None of that matters, however. They could both be riddled with pox from riding every cock from Seijou to the ocean and they’d still be required to drape themselves in cloaks of white and proclaim their innocence as a gift to one another. For a moment, Shigeru realizes Kentarou would find that amusing, but he squelches that thought immediately. God knows what would happen if he were to vomit his writhing guts onto his wedding garb.</p><p>The wedding proceedings begin, and Shigeru’s ears begin to ring. Everything within him screams for flight, to barrel out of this place, out of this entire kingdom and never come back. It’s a selfish thought, and he slaps that one down, too. It’s far too late to back out now.</p><p>Nonetheless, his feet cry for flight, and as the exchange of vows draws nearer, its shrill song intensifies.</p><p>“Lord Shigeru of the House Yahaba, protector of the realm of Seijou, do you accept this good woman into your heart, your home, and your protection until the gods of death claim you both?”</p><p>Shigeru blinks at the question, the answer he knows he’s supposed to give poised on his tongue, but the single syllable sticks to his palate like cement. His wide eyes meet his bride’s, a small wisp of a thing named Hitoka with sunny blonde hair and a perpetually nervous expression populating an admittedly attractive visage. </p><p>Whispers rise up from the wedding goers at his lack of response, and Hitoka bites her lip and averts her gaze. Shigeru has to answer the question, if only for her sake, but as his jaw finally dribbles open to spit it out, the doors to the temple fly open.</p><p>The sharp clap of horseshoes melds with the surprised cries of the wedding guests, and all eyes snap toward Kentarou, who sits astride Shigeru’s pure white stallion in the middle of the temple, eyes blazing with challenge. He trots over to the altar, and Hitoka scrambles to get out of the way. </p><p>Shigeru doesn’t move and couldn’t even if he were so inclined. He gapes up at Kentarou, who gives him a wry quirk of a brow. “Are you coming or not, pretty boy?”</p><p>“I —” Shigeru swallows hard and catches sight of his father in the corner of his eye, a fierce shade of red splotching his cheeks. “You can’t just storm in here and interrupt things!”</p><p>“I just did.” Kentarou crosses his arms and huffs. “Any other words of wisdom?”</p><p>The plethora of reasons to say no, they all fly through his head. <em> No, I can’t go with you. This isn’t something I can have, and you know that. We’re not the same. You’ll regret giving up your life’s work eventually. </em></p><p>But even as the thoughts come, Shigeru finds that each one of those concerns pale quickly in the light of his own heart. Is a physical force stopping him from leaving the building? No. Is there a law of nature and man commanding that Shigeru marry for status rather than for the heart? No. Does it matter if they come from the same place? No. Would Shigeru regret it if he climbed on that horse and rode off into the distance with Kentarou, without a coin to his untitled name?</p><p>Shigeru finds the answer to that when he takes Kentarou’s outstretched hand and vaults onto the front part of the saddle, facing Kentarou with their hips thrust together by the pommel pushing against Shigeru’s bottom. “I’m glad you came.”</p><p>“Had to.” Kentarou’s fingers splay across the fine leather breeches covering Shigeru’s thighs. “You’re my forever. Can’t let you go and marry someone else like some rude white-haired bastard.”</p><p>Something Shigeru can’t put words to rushes through him, and he crushes their mouths together. The uproar of the guests, of his father, go unheeded, and Shigeru drinks in Kentarou’s kiss like a starving man as they <em> clip clop </em> their way out of the temple. </p><p>They ride and ride and ride until their bellies cry out, and after a dinner of hastily killed and cooked rabbit, Shigeru eases into Kentarou’s embrace. All they have between them is a horse and each other, but for all the wealth and abundance his status had given him his entire life, he had never felt so rich as he does bathed in moonlight with his one and only forever.</p>
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